Program to celebrate Black history

The event will take place beginning at 3 p.m. at Northside High School, 365 Commons Drive South in Jacksonville, and will include live singing, dancing, spoken word and other performances.

LaQuesha Cadwallader, recreation division manager for Onslow County Parks and Recreation, said February 2026 is Black History Month’s 100th anniversary, adding that she thought there was no better way to celebrate Black history than by doing a soundtrack.

“Music is really the foundation that really kept African Americans together and kept them strong in times of crisis and throughout history,” she said. “It really just kept them grounded, even just thinking about when slaves were escaping.

“They would sing a song to let their families know where they were going or that they were leaving the plantation.”

Live performances will include everything from blues to jazz and gospel, as well as a violinist, a speed painter, the University of North Carolina Pembroke’s drumline and Bell Fork Elementary School’s music club.

Southern Breeze Seafood will also be on site, along with visuals telling the history of their food.

The event, including the food, is free and open to the public.

“We just want people to come and have fun but also take something away as far as the education of African-American history,” Cadwallader said.

“We love to make it fun but also, I love to make it a learning experience, take away something that maybe you didn’t know when you first came to the event. It’s going to be a good time.”

Another way to celebrate Black History Month is by visiting the African American Heritage Trail, a collaborative effort between Onslow County Tourism, the Onslow County Museum and the Business Diversity Council of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce.

The trail features historical markers and significant sites throughout the county that highlight African-American heritage and individual contributions from both the past and present.